Many charities are continuing to report significant problems with CAF Bank’s online services, a fortnight after issues emerged in the wake of a new system being implemented.
The disruption led to the bank’s chief executive, Alison Taylor, issuing an apology to customers and promising to resolve things “as quickly as possible.”
But dozens of charity representatives have continued to post critical comments on social media channels this week about CAF Bank, a subsidiary of the Charities Aid Foundation.
Some of the bank’s 14,000 charity customers complained about being locked out of services when payroll operations were being run in time for the end of the month, putting them at risk of not being able to pay staff on time.
CAF Bank problems causing ‘stress and frustration’
Hannah Daws, the director of fundraising and communications at the National AIDS Trust, told Civil Society that problems with CAF Bank’s systems were “still causing a huge amount of stress and frustration for charities”.
She said that after initially being blocked from logging on for two days after the system came online, things had seemed to be working in terms of approving payments – but that the online banking service had then once again gone down.
“On the day salaries needed to be paid, CAF Bank significantly failed,” she said. “It logged me out of the system and wouldn’t let me back in.”
She said she had been told by CAF Bank representatives that the system was incompatible with some browsers, and that she had then once again been stuck waiting for a new temporary password to be provided.
“This is literally outrageous and I’m sure there are charities across the land at the moment trying to pay salaries,” she said. “How can they compensate us for this shocking transition?”
‘Just when we thought it could not get any worse’
Daws’ experience was echoed by CAF Bank users posting on Facebook this week.
Cheryl Simpson, the chief executive of Macclesfield-based Space4Autism, wrote: “Total shambles, trying to make salary payments only allowed me to do 10 now cannot get back in.”
Meanwhile a member of staff from the Royal Archaeological Institute said they had received a phone message from CAF Bank saying the charity’s password had been reset. “Now we cannot even get into our account,” they said. “Just when we thought it could not get any worse.”
And Anita Harper, a charity accountant, wrote: “Something has obviously gone catastrophically wrong within CAF Bank. But the immediate problem is that it is payday and it's not possible to pay the staff. Or speak to CAF.”
CAF Bank ‘fully committed to resolving challenges’
Taylor, CAF Bank’s CEO, reiterated her apologies in light of the ongoing “disruption and long waits on calls” she acknowledged some customers had experienced.
“I want to thank them for their patience," she said. “We are continuing to support our customers to access their accounts and to familiarise themselves with the new service.
“We have added and redeployed additional people to significantly increase the number of colleagues available to answer calls and assist customers.
“Upgrading our systems like this is a huge and necessary undertaking and we carried out thorough testing before we launched.
“As a bank that is wholly owned by a charity, the work of our customers is central to everything we do, and we are fully committed to resolving challenges as quickly as possible.”
The bank is updating its frequently asked questions webpage to address the main issues it’s hearing from customers, as well as a user guide on how to manage statements in online banking and download historical transactions.
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